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SBRT: Walk-in, Walk-out Treatment for Prostate Cancer

In this kind of prostate cancer treatment, “bigger is better” and “less is more” both apply. Advertising Policy Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. Policy With stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) the bigger the doses of … Read More

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You’re placed on the SBRT machine’s robotic table top so that your prostate is positioned within millimeters of the target area. Movement during treatment is tracked continuously to allow the radiation to be refocused if needed.

You’re awake during the procedure. There is no pain. To say that recovery time is quick is an understatement, says Dr. Stephans.

“You walk out feeling the same way you did walking in,” he says.

The only post-procedure problem reported is patients having to urinate more frequently, but this subsides after a week or so.

The overall five-year survival rate after SBRT depends on the risk factor of the cancer — but the numbers so far suggest results on par or perhaps even better than traditional external beam radiation.